Transportation Goal 2

The local street network will grow in a manner that provides the maximum amount of connectivity for automobile traffic and respects the historic street grid pattern as it expands outward from the core of town.

2.1 Expand Street Network

STRATEGY: Adopt regulations that require the extension of the grid street network as land is annexed into the Town and subdivided where such extensions are practical with respect to topography and existing development constraints.

JUSTIFICATION: Shepherdstown’s historic grid street network provides a strong and efficient transportation network that allows for multiple alternative routes. It also plays a major role in shaping the character of the community since it is the foundation for how the town and its neighborhoods developed. Extending the network, where possible, as growth occurs around the core of the town will help to strengthen the character of the community and ensure greater compatibility and connectivity with future development.

2.2 Promote Neighborhood Connectivity

STRATEGY: Prohibit the use of cul-de-sacs or permanent dead-end streets where there are opportunities for connections to adjacent properties or existing streets, and require developers to extend streets to adjacent property lines where connections to existing or planned streets can be made.

JUSTIFICATION: Internal roads within new developments that provide limited or no connectivity to surrounding properties negatively impact the overall community transportation network by limiting the number of routes available to a destination and channelizing traffic flows onto a small number of roadways. In addition to distributing traffic, enhanced connectivity provides for quicker access for emergency vehicles as well as lower costs for the provision of municipal services that are dependent on transportation access, such as solid waste collection, due to more efficient routing options.

2.3 Establish Minimum Connectivity Ratios

JUSTIFICATION: Internal connectivity within a new development is just as important as external connectivity. By establishing a minimum ratio between the number of links (roads) and nodes (intersections), the use of dead end and cul-de-sac streets can be discouraged.